FinePix X100 (23mm, f/8, 1/40 sec, ISO200)
This March I went to Riga on a short business trip. Since it was my first time there I googled for images and found lot’s of wonderful images of the town center so of course I brought my Fuji X100. Before landing I saw frozen rivers and lakes. It was mid of March and spring has been arrived already in Austria but obviously not in Latvia. I had “survived” a massive cold front from Siberia when I was in Moscow a couple of weeks before so I got reckless and left my warm winter jacket and my gloves at home..
Thank God I had a winter coat and also was smart enough to bring a hat.
In Riga the weather was wonderful: Clear blue sky but windy and bitterly cold. There were icy patches everywhere on the road and one must take care not to slip and fall down. The whole center is paved with cobblestones which doesn’t make things easier. I was impressed by all the women in high heels – somehow the managed to walk without any problems at all. It seems as they are born in these shoes.
But even more beautiful than the women that I, as a married man, had hardly recognized at all is the old center of Riga. I had no time during the day so I decided to set the alarm clock early to have some time after breakfast. When my colleague entered the breakfast room I left to explore the city.
FinePix X100 (23mm, f/8, 1/80 sec, ISO200)
FinePix X100 (23mm, f/8, 1/210 sec, ISO200)
Our hotel was right in the center so I had everything on my doorstep. But it happened to be a long walk. Actually two walks as I did the same the next day before the taxi arrived to take us to the airport.
My fingers almost got frozen and from time to time I had to stop taking pictures to stick them deep into my coat pockets to warm them up. The camera worked fine but it was no surprise because it worked at much colder temperatures without any issues.
The city is beautiful with it’s old, picturesque buildings but there is one building that stands out. A large black cubic block. The museum of occupation. A reminder that Latvia was occupied by Russia from world war II till the breakdown of the soviet empire just about 20 years ago. I wasn’t open early morning but I had so much more to see.
FinePix X100 (23mm, f/8, 1/60 sec, ISO200)
FinePix X100 (23mm, f/8, 1/450 sec, ISO200)
FinePix X100 (23mm, f/8, 1/240 sec, ISO200)
FinePix X100 (23mm, f/8, 1/420 sec, ISO200)
FinePix X100 (23mm, f/8, 1/240 sec, ISO200)
The Statue of Liberty for example. It was built in between 1931 to 1935 and replaced a statue of Peter the Great. It survived the occupation by Germany and later the occupation by Russia. When it becomes decrepit the Russian wanted to tear it down as it was a risk for the traffic but the major of Riga made the whole area a pedestrian zone and saved the building. It’s a beautiful statue but hard to photograph especially in the harsh morning light. I took an image the night before but only with my iPhone as I left my camera in the hotel.
The image below shows a small frozen river in a park and the last image that I took on the first evening shows an icy patch on the road.
Riga is among those places I will definitely revisit together with my wife someday. Very beautiful. Most visitors come during the summer months when the days are endless but I think to see such a place covered in snow on a beautiful winters day must be magical.
FinePix X100 (23mm, f/8, 1/150 sec, ISO200)
FinePix X100 (23mm, f/2, 1/30 sec, ISO2500)